Art of raising sunken vessels



Dec. 10, 1946. w. NEWELL 2,412,417

ART OF musme sunmu VESSELS Filed April 5, 1945 10 Sheets-Shet 1 7 Dec. 10, 1946. w, wE 2,412,417

ART OF RAISINGSUNKEN VESSELS' Filed April 5, 194:5 10 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 10, 1946; w. L. NEWELL 2,412,417

ART OF RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS Filed April 5, 1945 1o Sheets-Sheet 5 Jay. 5.

Dec. 10, 1946'. w. NEWELL 2,412,417

ART OF RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS Filed'Apri l 5, 1943 10 Sheets-Sheet 4 W. L. NEWELL ART OF RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS Dec. 1 0, 1946.

10 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed April 5 u E Z w 0e 5 T- T N T E A v N Dec. 10, 1946.. w, NEwELL 2,412,417

\ ART OF RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS Filed Apri1 5,'1943 1o Sheets-Sheet 9 Dec. 10, 1946, w. 1.. NEWELL ART OF RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS Filed April 5, 1945 10 Sheets-Sheet 10 %N MEN 1 mm i w: n MAE.

I'IIIIIIIIIII nnnnnunllllllll IIIIIIII/ .1 N veNT0f12= Wal/a e ewe/l. 1 Mb ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 10, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ART OF RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS Wallace L. Nowell, Seattle, Wash.

Application April 5, 1943, Serial No. 481,938

19 Claims. 1

This invention relates to the art of salvaging sunken vessels by the attachment of elevating pontoons having a collective buoyancy characteristic exceeding the vessels weight, and its general object is to provide advanced equipment permitting the attachment operations to be performed under conditions of water pressure which prohibit ordinary diving methods.

It is a further and important object to perfect the attachment devices proper.

Maximum clarity will perhaps be best obtained by here stating that my system of salvaging is made possible by the use of a caisson arranged to carry a working crewand which is so devised as to permit all of the underwater operations to be effectively carried on by external mechanism controlled from the interior of the caisson. In the course of performing its work the caisson is adapted to make repeated trips between the surface and the sunken vessel, and in so doing is arranged to operate much in the manner of an elevator, rising by its own buoyancy and descending against this buoyancy influence through the instrumentality of cables leading from the caisson to a severalty of anchoring blocks suitably placed upon the ocean floor, the descent being accomplished by winding the caisson-ends of the cables about power drums mounted along the sides of the caisson. The ultimate attachment is one in which two cables suspended from each of the lifting pontoons are respectively coupled to load-accummulating trunk-plates secured to hull and, after coupling the same to the trunkplates, bolts the straps to the hull plates, and finally carries the lifting pontoons down and couples the cables thereof to the trunk-plates.

The invention resides in the new method of attaching the lifting pontoons to the hull, and further consists in the novel construction, adaptation and combination of parts comprising the attachment devices, and in the advanced construction, adaptation and combination of elements comprising the caisson.

The now preferred embodiment of the'invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is an end elevational view of the caisson with dotted lines being employed to indicate the cables of a pontoon which, in the final descent of the caisson, are caused to be coupled to the load-accummulating trunk-plates of the attachment devices.

Fig. 2 is a reduced-scale side elevational view of the caisson, with parts in section, and showthe hull of the vessel at spaced intervals along the sides, and with each of these trunk-plates being coupled to a severalty of load-straps which are in turn fixedly bolted to the hull-plates of the vessel, the load-straps functioning to distribute the lift-stress from each said pontoon over a relatively wide area. More especially, the system of attachment is so engineered with perpendicularly disposed load-straps bolted to the hull at spaced intervals of the straps lengths, the load-straps lying in relatively close proximity and spaced equidistantly throughout the substantial length of the vessel, as to obtain an even distribution of the lift-force and in consequence obviate spot-loading which, evidenced in most if not all prior salvaging attempts, not infrequently causes side plates to be torn from the hull of the vessel.

In carrying out my attachment procedure, the caisson in the course of successive trips between surface vessels and the working level is first caused to apply the trunk-plates to the sunken vessel, then carries the load-straps down to the ing the same at the surface preparatory to a descent and after having been fitted with one of the trunk-plates. 1

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the caisson, the viewbeing somewhat schematic in that the interior controls for the external operating mechanism are shown fragmentarily. The view is intended primarily to portray the pumping arrangement. for governing the buoyancy of the caisson and which permits the caisson to be propelled horizontally in various directions.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken to an enlarged scale on line 4-4 of Fig. 1 to detail one of several jack assemblies provided as exterior rigging upon the caisson, the disclosed jacks acting to carry drills and tap-bolts and being indicated in fully-retracted positions.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view on line 55 of Fig. 4 illustrating one of several gangs of the drill-and-tap jacks which the caisson provides.

Figs. 6 and 7 are large-scale fragmentary elevational views with parts broken away and shown in section and indicating the application of said jacks in the performance, respectively, of a drilling and a tapping office.

Figs. 8 and 9 are fragmentary vertical sectional views of other jacks provided upon the exterior of the caisson and which, in the one instance, support the trunk-plates and the loadstraps as the same are carried to the sunken vessel in the related descents of the caisson, and in the other instance carry the pinswhich are employed to couple the load-straps to the trunk- 3 plates. than that of Figs. 4 and 5 but reduced from the scale of Figs. 6 and '7, all of the jacks in the actual construction being more or less of uniform size. It may be pointed out that the jack of Fig. 8 occupies a relatively extended position while the jack of Fig. 9 is shown relatively retracted.

Fig. 10 is a side elevational view of a coupling pin detached and turned approximately 90 from the disclosure of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is an end elevation of the coupling pin,

the dotted lines indicating the manner in which 1' a radial arm formed upon the pin is caused to perform a latching ofhce for preventing axial dislodgment of the pin from its coupling position. :3

Fig. 12 is an elevational assembly view toillustrate the hook-up between the trunk-plates and the load-distributing straps, it being understood,

a single pontoon, and as between each said The scale used in these views is larger trunk-plate and a severalty of load-straps related 7 thereto.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged side elevational view representing a trunk-plate in the position which the same would occupy against the hull of the vessel to be raised.

Fig. 14 is a similarly enlarged side elevational view, partly in vertical section, of one of the loadstraps.

Fig. 15 is an elevational View, partly in vertical section, detailing a lifting pontoon.

Figs. 16 and 17. are fragmentary front and side elevational views, respectively, taken to an enlarged scale from that of Fig. 15 and detailing the stirrups which are cable-suspended from the pontoons and. find engagement in apical sockets formed in the trunk-plates, pins similar to but larger than those illustrated in Figs. 9 through 11' being employed to couple the stirrups to the plates. a

.Fig. 18 (appearing on Plate 2) is a fragmentary side-elevational view detailing the caisson-carried external rigging which serves to engage the stirrup for drawing the pontoons downwardly and which, by an interrelated jack arranged to carry a coupling pin, permits a facilitated coupling of the. stirrup to the related trunk-plate. Fig. 19 is a horizontal section on line Iii-l9 of Fig. 18 and indicating, by full and dotted lines, the operative and inoperative positions of the: clamping arms which act to engage the stirrup. Fig. 20 is a top plan view with parts in horizontal section detailing one of a 'severalty of suction devices which I employ as a means of permitting the caisson to attach itself to the: vessels hull for carrying out the various attachment operations for the lifting pontoons.

Fig. 21 is a fragmentary side elevational View with parts in section further detailing the suction devices. i

Fig. 22 is a fragmentary transverse vertical section on line 22-22 of Fig. 20. Fig. 23 (appearing on Plate 5) is a detail sectional View to an enlarged scale illustrating the safety connection which permits the stationary 4 parts of the caissons external gear to be stripped from the caisson in the event that any such part should, for one reason or another, hang up by reason of becoming fouled in the course of a salvage operation; and Fig. 24 is a detail sectional view to a like scale illustrating a safety coupling which, similarly for jettison purposes, permits driven parts to be discarded coincident with the stripping of the stationary support which carries the same.

Fig. 25 is a somewhat schematic transverse vertical sectional view which indicates the man- .ner in which the load-straps, the trunk-plates,

and the stirrups act in complement to transmit the lift-force of the pontoons to the sunken vessel, and represents the vessel as having been brought upwardly from its deep-water position and then moved into relatively shallow water; and

Fig. 26 is a similarly schematic view indicating a final procedure which I desirably-follow as a means of bringing the vessel to the surface from its said shallow resting. V

With reference being had to said. drawings,

. and first describing the caisson which I generally indicate by the numeral 30, the. same is desirably of a cylindrical form closed at the ends by front and rear heads 3 l32 and structurally reinforced to withstand the pressures of relatively extreme depths, with a man-hole 33 being provided for,

the entrance of the working crew. The front head is somewhat recessed in order that the cylindrical wall may project forwardly as a protective hood for operating rigging which I will later describe.

Mounted exteriorly along the caissons sides on the approximate horizontal center line are a plurality of wire-rope drumsthree in number for each side-operated by worm drives from shafts 3'! which are journaled through the wall of the caisson and are powered from within by electric motors (not shown). From the two end drums Ev l-3d at each side of the caisson the wire-ropes 35 pass over fairlead plates 3636' and thence to related anchoring blocks, 38-38 which have been placed upon the ocean floor to occupy positions in the approximate perpendicular plane of the drums, and from the center drums 39 the wire-ropes 35' lead outwardly to anchoring blocks (not shown) which have been placed at some distance laterally from the first said anchors. 'It will thus be seen that by controllingthe winding action of the various drums the caisson may be drawn down to its working position along the side of the sunken vessel, being controlled laterally through the instrumentality of the center drums. Upon rising to the surface after having applied a fitting to the hull, the caisson is caused to occupy the position illustrated in Fig. 2 by holding the after drums while continuing to pay out the wire-ropes from the forward drums 34, thereby exposing the front head 3| and enabling a surface tender to affix the tools or fittings required in a, following workoperation. When so aflixed, the caisson is again brought to a horizontal position and drawn down to the side of the hull.

For use in attaching th caisson to the hull in the caissons successive trips to the working level, there are provided suction devices which, desirably, are disposed at the sides to lie above and below the horizontal center line. I have deleted these devices from the showing of Fig. 2 for purposes of simplifying the illustration but indicate the same in Fig. 1 and detail the construction in Figs. 20 through 22, inclusive. From an inspection of these latter views, it will be seen that th devices-operating as suckers-are comprised of two telescoping tubes 40' and M of which the latter, as the extensible member, is fitted on its outer end with a suction cu 42, and of which the other member is connected for compound swinging movement to a stationary support 43 fixed to the side wall of the caisson. Also provided by the support 43 is a mounting i3 which acts as a journal for a rotary shaft M which, like the shafts 31, is powered from the interior of the caisson by an electric motor (not shown). Acting to control the telescopic movement of thetubes, the shaft operates through bevel gearing 45 to drive a stub shaft 46, and articulating through a universal joint 4'5 with this stub shaft is a rod 68 which extends axially of the tube through a suitable packing gland to find thread engagement with a travelling nut 49 fixed to th extensible tube 4|. The slide fit be: tween the tubes includes a water-tight cap 40. In controlling the swinging movement of the tube-assembly within given angular limits, the tube 4! carries a pair of collars til-5i presenting radial extensions, and received in these extensions are wrist-pins 52 traversed by threaded rods 53-5s, the rods having universal connection at the root ends with shafts 53-5 l arranged to be operated from the interior of the caisson by control wheels 5E55-5. To furnish the required suction to the cups of each said device, a flexible hose El is attached by a nipple 5'! to the tube 45) and, by any suitable coupling, carries into the interior of the caisson for connection with a related suction pipe 58, 59, so or 65, as the case may be. Thes suction pipes, fitted with valves and indicated in Fig. 3, connect by a manifold 62' with a suction pump 62 which has an external discharge.

Further characterizing my caisson is a ballast tank or tanks 63. schematically shown in Fig. 3, there is provided for this ballast tank a threestage pump 65 and functional thereto is a valve chest 555 having connection by a main 66 with the tank and also connecting through pipes 51 and 68 with manifolds 5-'Hl which in turn connect with a multiplicity of valved branches TI. These branches, terminating in external nozzles "H disposed along the sides and ends of the caisson, permit the caisson to be propelled in a desired direction horizontally by the act of taking water from one side or end and expelling the same as pressure jets from the opposite side or end. In more particularity, the valve arrangement for the pump allows of the waterbeing forced directly from one manifold into the other manifold, or to or from the ballast tank, and it is through the instrumentality of the latter operation that the buoyancy of the caisson is controlled. It should be here stated that the caisson with the ballast tank emptied has a buoyancy characteristic exceeding the weights of the caisson and the anchoring blocks combined, in consequence permitting the caisson to shift the positions of the anchoring blocks at will as the successive working operations necessitate movement of the caisson progressively from one to the other end of the vessel.

While I have not illustrated the same in the drawings the caisson is provided with the usual hose connections tothe surface tender and through which air at atmospheric pressure is supplied, as well as the necessary electric current to operate the various appliances and which additionally provides telephone communication. The caisson itself is also equipped with submarine lamps for illuminating the work, and provides inspection windows. Other non-illustrated feature such, for example, as a cutting torch'for removing obstructions are necessarily used but, being common practice and well-known, their inclusion in the drawings would unnecessarily complicate the disclosure.

Now proceeding to describe the various structural pieces which constitute my attachment means, and in the course of such description having reference also to the caisson-carried rigging by which, such pieces are applied, it may be said that the system of attachment essentially resides in picking up the weight of the vessel by transmitting the lift-force from each pontoon through paired cables to two trunk-plates and then distributing the force from. each said trunkplate through a gang of, say, six flexible metal straps yoked together by the trunk-plate. straps lie in parallelism and occupy perpendicular planes. While the trunk-plates and straps might feasibly be formed integral, the preferred arrangement utilizes pins to couple the upper extremity of each strap to its related yoke, the

yoke or trunk being in the form of a truss andpresenting an apical opening receiving a larger pin which in turn couples the trunk-plate to one of the two cables suspended from the lifting pontoon.

In performing the work of anchoring the straps to the hull plates of the vessel, and which procedure is also followed in first attaching the trunk-plates to the vessel, the method is to affix the part in question upon the front head 3! of the caisson while the latter occupies the position shown in Fig. 2 and, after descending and setting the caisson in its required working position by means of the sucker cups, pressing the attachment piece against the side of the vessel and performing the successive steps of drilling through the piece and the hull plate, backing off the drill, and then inserting a tap-bolt. After screwing the tap-bolt home, the shank is twisted off, the caisson disengaged from the now-attached piece, and the caisson rises to the surface for receiving the next attachment piece. The rigging of the caisson which permits these operations is comprised of a number of jack devices which occupy positions upon the front head 3|, perforce being located in accordance with a definite predetermined pattern corresponding to the particular form of the attachment pieces. Giving name and numerical identity to the jacks which perform these steps, I will refer to the same as mounting jacks i2, drill jacks l3, and tap-bolt jacks M. Of these jacks, the latter two must necessarily perform their respective drilling and tapping offices on the same axis in order that the tap-bolt may register with the drilled hole, and as an accommodation thereto I support sets of these jacks on a common slide carriage and by shifting the same transversely as the need arises enable the hole to be first drilled and the tap-bolt then inserted. Also provided upon the caissons front head and occupying positions following a given pattern are jacks 15 and 16 for carrying the coupling pins, the former to handle the smaller pins which connect the straps to the trunk-plates and the latter tohandle the larger pins which secure the trunk-plates to the pontoon cables.

The system insofar as it pertains to the attachment of the trunk-plates, and the attachment of The he. l d-st aps, is: one in w ich, th tr -pl t sfirst brou ht d a d e u d position upo thevessel. an the lo dt h b g down and pin-coupled to the trunk coincident with the operation of bolting, it being pointed out (see Fig.

followed by 2 and 5, and finally 3 and 6. Considered in more particularity, thisis tosay that my jacks 12l3'!4l5 are placed in two vertical lines transversely spaced in correspondence with the spacing between the 1 and l, 2 and 5, and 3 and 6 straps of related gangs and are, moreover, given a location in each such line correlating the respective jacks to the, various attachment pieces; This arrangement, see Fig. l, locates a pin-jack 15 at the upper end of each such line, and places paired sets of drill and tap-bolt jacks 13-14 therebelow which, preferably, are applied in groups of, say, three pairs of jacks to a group. Each such group is shiftable laterally as a unit upon a common slide-carriage fl, and I have indicatedtwo of the carriage-mounted groups as being provided for each line, spaced one from the v,

other and from the pin-jack 75 such as to admit of the placing of a mounting jack "E2 in each space interval. This is to say that there are two mounting jacks in each of the vertical lines, the upper mounting jack lying between the pin-jack and the upper group and the lower mounting jack lying between the two groups or drill and tap-bolt jacks.

Having reference to Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 (detailing the drill and tap-bolt jacks), Fig. 8 (detailing the mounting jacks), Fig. 9 (detailing the pinjacks l), and Fig. 18 (detailing the jacks it for the larger pins and which, by a further inspection of Fig. 1, will be seen to lie in ofiset relation from said vertical lines), it may be said that all of the jacks are more or less functionally alike in that each provides a working head-as I2, 73, i l, and ?6 carried as an integral part of a mandrel 86 which is characterized by both rotary and axial movement.

driven from the latter by a key 82 (Fig. 8 and is also thrust-coupled to and finds a rotary journal in a non-rotary piston 83 received in a body cylinder which, for the mounting and pin jacks, is

'of the rack to govern the axial rncvement of the mandrel is a spur pinion 86. The spur pinion is controlled in. the manner illustrated in Fig. 4, which is to say by a horizontal shaft 86 connecting through bevel gearing 8? with a shaft 88, the latter extending through the front head of the caisson and being manually operated from within the caisson by a control wheel (not shown), For driving the spindles of the stationary jacks 72, F5 and E6, the same are coupled to a co-axial power shaft 89 which extends for manual operation into the caisson, and for driving the spindles of the shiftable drill and tap-bolt jacks I provide a system as illustrated in Fig. 4 wherein a bevel geariill is fixedly carried upon the inner ends of thecenter-jack spindles and meshes a bevel gear 9| which is pin-connected to a travelling shaft 92 journaled for rotary and axial movement in a stationary frame-work as, there being two such travelling shafts one for the center drill-jack of each group and the other for the center tap-bolt The mandrel is given a I sliding fit in a hollow drive spindle 8i and is jack of the group and each having a bevel gear 94 slidably keyed upon its outer end to mesh a bevel gear 95 driven from a shaft 96 which is in turn driven from within the caisson by electric motors (not shown Transmitting the drive from the center jacks of said drill and tap-bolt groups are intermeshing trains of spur gears 91.

indicated as comprising rigid spanner bars 98, and for performing the shifting function I connect the carriages by means of pitmans I60 with cranks llll and operate the latter through bevel gearing I02 from within the caisson.

InFigs. 6 and 7 I have shown enlarged views of the heads 13' and 14' with the related tools "13 and IM applied thereto, and illustrate the same in the performance of their respective ofiice, the one a drilling function and theother a combined tapping and bolting function. The structural form of said drilland tap-bolt fittings i apparent from aninspection of these views, noting that the shanks of my tap-bolts are formed with a weakened part, as I94, permitting the same to be readily twisted off after the bolt has been screwed home. tailed in Figs. 8 and 9, respectively, the former presenting a quick-release stud-screw 12 and the latter being formed with a bayonet-joint T5".

The pin which is handled by the pin-jack 15 is designated .by H35 and is shown applied in Fig, 9, bein formed with a bayonet dowel H16 and additionally providing a lateral latching arm I05 the function of which will appear in the course of describing the trunk-plate.

Having the nature and location of the various described jacks in mind and additionally pointing out that the jacks l6 and the pins therefor are, excepting as to the size of the pin, similar to the of the plate, laterally oifset from each eye, is an upstanding finger l Iii describing a locking slot for the latching arms 5 $5 of the pins. Characterizing the trunk-plates, there is provided an im-. e V

perforate lug l l l lying above and in the substantial perpendicular planes of the second and fifth eyes I09, and also formed upon the plates to lie above the lugs are lateral ears l l2, which are .bored and threaded tooperate as females for the quickrelease stud-screws 72', the ears and lugsconsidered both as to lateral and vertical spacing being in exact correspondence With the upper pair of mounting jacks and the top-most pairs of drill and tap-bolt jacks. The procedure of securing the trunk-plates to the sunken vessel can be described as follows: the piece to be applied is first attached to the caisson as indicated in Fig. 2 by inserting the upper two stud-screws 12" into the threaded ears, the caisson, While occupying this position, also having drill and tap-bolt fittings introduced to the top-most pairs of jacks 1314. The caisson now descends, is attached to the hull of'the vessel in av position to properly locate the trunk-plate, and the jacks 12 are extended to press which the two upper carriages H are shifted to bring the'drills H13 into registration with the ape The slide mounting for my shiftable carriages Tl is The heads 12 and 75 are similarly deproximate centers of the lug I I I, and the drilling operation is performed to cause the drills to pass through the lugs and the underlying hull plates, it being noted (Fig. 6) that the drill has two diameters functioning to cut a larger bore in the lugs than in the hull plates. The drills are then backed off, and the carriages shifted in the opposite direction to bring the tap-bolts into registration, whereupon the tap-bolt jacks It are operated to feed the tap-bolts freely through the larger bore of the lugs and cut threads in the smaller aligned bore of the hull plates. Having cut their own threads, the tap-bolts are screwed home to bring the lugs of the trunk-plate firmly against the vessels side and, by continuing to turn the jacks, the shanks are twisted off. The stud-screws are now unscrewed from the trunk-plate, the sucker cups freed from the vessel, and the caisson rises to the surface to receive the related load-straps.

These load-straps are formed to present a plurality of imperforate boss projections I I3 disposed. upon the rear face and spaced vertically from one another in correspondence with the spacing between the several sets of carriage-mounted jacks I3'I4, and upon the front face present two bosses IIG which are bored and threaded to operate as females for the stud-screws of the mounting jacks and consequently are placed to exactly register with the upper and lower said jacks. Also pro vided by each strap at the upper extremity thereof and so spaced above the upper boss II-i as to exactly register with the pin jack 75 when the strap is applied upon the caisson is an end-lug I I5. The procedure of securing the straps to the related trunk-plate and to the vessel, and reiterating that these straps are applied in sets of two, is as follows: the two straps, 1 and 4, 2 and 5, or 3 and 6, as the case may be, are attached to the caisson while the latter occupies its above-water position through the instrumentality of screwing the four stud-screws 12 into the related bosses H4, the drill and tap-bolt fittings being at the same time introduced to the various carriage-mounted jacks l3-I4, and pins 35 being inserted in the bayonet-sockets of the two jacks I5, these latter jacks being fully retracted and in which position a space is left between the outer ends of the pins and the registering end-lugs sufiicient to accommodate the later under-water introduction of the end-lugs into the related bottom sockets of the trunk-plate. The caisson is caused to descend and is attached by the suckers to the side of the vessel in the approximate location desired-a position disposing the end-lugs slightly below the trunk-plateand the caisson is then accurately located by means of the angularly-disposed control arms 53--5d of the suction devices to bring the end-lugs upwardly into the trunk sockets, the jacks I5 being new operated to pass the pins I65 through the registering eyes of the trunk-plate and the end-lugs, whereupon the pins are given a right-hand quarter-turn to latch the same and the jacks I5 are then reversely turned to align the dowels with the feedthroat of the bayonet slots and are backed off from the pins. The successive drilling and bolting steps, the twisting off of the bolt shanks, and disengagement of the stud-screws from the straps are thereupon performed in substantially the same manner as has been described in connection with the attachment of the trunk-plates, the operation being one in which all of the drill jacks and then the tap-bolts jacks are caused to operate in unison or, where the curve of the vessels side precludes'such, first the upper group and then the lower group, shifting the caisson somewhat before usin the second group of jacks to tilt the caissons axis after having disengaged the upper two stud screws. The purpose of such shifting is thought to be clear, namely to have the drilling axes lie relatively at right angles to the hull plate being drilled. The flexibility of the straps permits the same to conform readily to curved surfaces. It should perhaps be here stated that I have simplified the disclosure of the straps, and perforce the related drill and tap-bolt jacks, by showing the straps as being bolted at only six points whereas, in practice, the straps are bolted at a greater number of points by an additional group or groups of jacks IS-76 lying below those which have been illustrated.

Assuming that two adjacent gangs of loadstraps and the trunk-plates therefor have been secured upon the side'of the vessel, the same are ready to receive one of the pontoons which, with the handling gear therefor, are detailed in Figs. 15 through 19. The pontoon is designated generally by I I6 and provides two chambers I I6 and IIB of which the former is open at the bottom to the sea and of which the latter, containing a sealed volume of air, lies at the head end of the pontoon and has a buoyancy characteristic somewhat exceeding the weight of the pontoon to maintain the pontoon in an upright position. Upon the side of the pontoon is a hook I I1 adapted to releasably engage an air hose II8 which terminates in a gooseneck us. The air hoses with their gooseneck nozzles are adapted to be brought down by the caisson and attached to the pontoonsfor expelling water from the lower chambersafter all of the pontoons have been coupled to the vessel, and the goosenecks, while not illustrated, are therefor provided with external fittings accommodating the stud-screws 12" of the mounting jacks.

Depending from the pontoons and spaced apart in correspondence with the approximate spacing between. the two apical eyes of an adjacent pair of vessel-attached trunk-plates are cables I2I]I2Il, and provided at the lower extremities of these cables are coupling members formed to present a basal stirrup I22 surmounted by a conical head I23, the head operating as a haul-down collar and the stirrup describing a 'clevis which is arranged to be held in the apical socket of the trunk-plate by means of the larger of my above referred-to locking pins and which I designate by I2I. There is provided upon such haul-down head a vertical fin I24 disposed centrally as regards the bow of the stirrup, and a pair of shoulders I25 at each side thereof. Corelated to this stirrup fitting and positioned as to lateral spacing in correspondence with the spacing between the two cables of a pontoon, the front head SI of the caisson provides handling devices which contain the pin-jacks I5 and additionally embody haul-down clamps I26 for the haul-down collars, the haul-down clamps being comprised of pivoted jaws IZI-IZB formed to close against the fin I24 and find a snug fit about the collar in seating engagement against the shoulders I25, being operated by toothed segments I2I'-I28' in mesh with a worm I35 which is manually controlled by a shaft I 3i from the interior of,the caisson. The procedure of securingthe pontoon cables to the attached trunk-plates is clearly indicated in Fig. 18, the caisson, after having had the jaws I2'l--I28 closed upon the collars I23 while in its above-water position, and the locking pins IZI introduced to the bayonet sockets of the jacks I6, being brought down along the side of comprised of a threaded bolt through the wall of the caisson and having an integral flange I 34 which, with an underlying 1 compression washer, is caused to bear against the outside face of the wall by an interiorly applied nut I35, the bolt being formed with a squared ii the vessel and positioned to insert the stirrups in the apical sockets of the adacent trunk-plates,

the pins being then inserted through the regisbetween the jacks I6, but it becomes a simple matter to insert first One and then the other of the two pins I2 I, shifting the caisson laterally as required.

In further describing the various pieces of external rigging which I apply to the caisson, it is highly desirable that all mechanism on the outside of the same be so fastened as to permit such .mechanism to be discarded at will in the event of any piece of rigging becoming fouled. In Figs.

23 and 24 I have detailed safety connections functioning to this end, the former view illustrating a connection for the stationary parts, and the latter a connection for the movable parts or, more safety connection for such stationary parts is I33 extending head I36. Carrying outwardly beyond the flange,

I the bolt presents a reduced shank I31 terminating length of the bolt against rotary movement to permit thev shank to be twisted off by applying a wrench over the squared head I38, Where motion is to be transmitted through a shaft powered from the interior of the caisson, the safety coupling of Fig. 24 is'employed, comprised simply of two abutting flanges M2M3, the one being integral with the power shaft and having a series of sockets it spaced at intervals about the circumference and the other having coupling pins arranged to seat in the sockets. A U-cup leather .isapplied about the power shaft to trap the slight leakage occurring.

' Fig; 25 illustrates the system applied to raise a sunken vessel. Given, say, pontoons having an overall height of 40 ft., and considering that the vessel may have a considerable superstructure, the distance from keel to the upper limit of the pontoons would still normally not exceed 100 ft. This is suiiiciently shallow, relatively speaking, as topermit ordinary diving and I have therefor accomplished a satisfactory end when my salvaging system permits a vessel, lying in deep water, to be raised, moved landwards, and set down on a bottom of 100' ft. depth or less. However, as a suggested; second lift, the arrangement of Fig. 26

from the pontoons, is'raised to the surface and may be beached at high tide or mightbe run 7 into a dry-dock. In the operation of Fig. 26, the

procedure would be carried on by divers who could easily and quickly perform the work.

The invention is thought to be clear fromthe foregoing. While I have described the various features substantially as the same are illustrated, it *is not my intention to thereby imply that I am restricting myself thereto. The intention is that the invention is to be limited as to. scope only as I expressly recite the same in the hereto annexed claims.

What I claim, is:

1. In a salvage operation employing a lifting hock-up including a member adapted to be secured upon the side of a sunken vessel, and given a submersible working caisson externally rigged upon its frontal face with operating tools, the method of performing the work which consists in surfacing the caisson and upending the surfaced caisson to expose said frontal face thereof and, while so exposed, detachably anchoring the lifting member upon said frontal face of the caisson to immovably hold the member in predetermined functional relation to the operating tools, submerging the caisson to the level of the sunken vessel and positioning the same to locate the lifting member upon the hull-plates of the vessel,

operating the too-ls to secure the lifting member to the hull plates, and detaching the caisson from the anchored lifting member;

2. In salvage equipment, the combination of a submersible working caisson externally fitted with devices for releasably attaching the caisson to the side of a sunken vessel; and external rigging upon the caisson operable from within the latter and acting to releasably secure a lifting strap to the caisson and, upon the attachment of the caisson to the vessel in a position functionally locating the strap, drilling holes through the strap and introducing bolts through these drilled holes to secure the strap to the hullplates of the vessel, the said external rigging which functions to detachably'secure the lifting strap to the caisson comprising bolts having a revoluble mounting in respect of the caisson and arranged and adapted to fit threaded sockets therefor provided in the lifting strap.

3. As salvage equipment for use in raising a sunken vessel: the combination of a lifting piece studded with a set pattern of bosses adapted to receive bolts therethrough for securing the piece to the hull-plates of the vessel; a submersible working caisson externally rigged with a plurality of bolt-applying jacks mounted for rotary and axial movement and disposed in a pattern exactly corresponding to the pattern of the bosses and means for controlling the rotary and axial movement of said'jacks from within the caisson.

4. As salvage equipment for use in raising a sunken vessel: the combination of a lifting piece studded with a set pattern of bosses adapted to receive bolts therethrough for securing the piece to the hull-plates of the vessel, and additionally to receive tap-bolts; and. mechanism operable from within the caisson to control the rotary and axial movement of said external rigging.

5. As salvage equipment for use in raising a sunken vessel: a lifting pontoon having a depending cable presenting a terminal fitting formed to provide a stirrup and a surmounting haul-down collar; a plate adapted to be bolted upon the side of the vessel and formed with an apical socket toreceive the stirrup, said socket being described between spaced walls transversely pierced to accommodate the insertion of a pin for coupling the plate to the stirrup; a submersible working caisson; external rigging upon the caisson comprising a device for detachably engaging the haul-down collar, and a pin-carrying device positioned to obtain registration as between the pin and the eye of the stirrup upon engaging the haul-down collar in the first said device; and means controlled from within the caisson and arranged to be operated upon an introduction of said stirrup into the socket therefor for axially advancing the pin to couple the stirrup to the vessel-attached plate.

6. In salvage equipment: a lifting piece adapted to receive bolts therethrough for securing the piece upon the side of a sunken vessel; a submersible working caisson externally rigged with devices for detachably supporting the piece upon the caisson; and complementary rigging also mounted externally upon the caisson comprising two like series of tool-carrying devices each arranged, considered as to the individual devices, for both rotary and axial movements and acting in the instance of one said series to receive drills and in the instance of the other said series to receive tap-bolts; and mechanism controlled from the interior of the caisson for first bringing the drill-carrying devices into functioning relation to the supported lifting piece and drilling the latter, and then replacing the drill-carrying devices with the tap-bolt carrying devices and operating the latter to boltably secure the lifting piece to the vessels hull.

'7. In salvage equipment, and in combination.

with a lifting piece studded with a set pattern of imperforate bosses adapted to receivebolts therethrough for securing the piece upon the side. of a sunken vessel, and which piece additionally provides threaded sockets ofiset from the bosses,

and with tap-bolts functional to out their own threads and having a weakened shank permitting the shank to be twisted off after screwing the bolts home: a submersible working caisson; male counterparts of the threaded sockets mounted for axial and rotary movements upon the outside of the caisson and correlated as to position with the position of the sockets for detachably supporting the lifting piece upon the caisson; operating mechanism controlled from within the caisson for governing the axial and rotary movements of said males; complementary devices also mounted for axial and rotary movements upon the outside of the caisson, disposed in a pattern exactly registering with the bosses upon an engagement of said males in the threaded sockets of the lifting piece, and arranged to carry the tap-bolts; and means operable from within the caisson for controlling the rotary and axial movements of said last-named devices.

8. In salvage equipment: a submersible working caisson externally rigged with a plurality of devices located at spaced intervals about the perimeter, having a universal mounting, and each terminally fitted with a suction cup to permit the '14 caisson to be releasably attached to the side of a sunken vessel; and means operable from within the caisson and connecting with said devices for efiecting controlled relative movement between the caisson and the suction cups.

9. In salvage equipment: the new system 'of connecting a lifting cable to a sunken vessel which comprises a trunk-plate coupled to the cable; and a gang of load-straps yoked together at their upper ends by the trunk-plate and applied perpendicularly in spaced relation upon the side of the vessel, the several straps being each secured to the underlying hull-plates by multiple bolts applied to lie at uniformly spaced intervals throughout the height of the strap.

10. As salvage equipment for use in raising a sunken vessel: the combination of a flexible lifting piece adapted to receive a plurality of bolts at given spaced intervals of the length for securing the piece to the hull-plates of the vessel; a submersible working caisson externally rigged with independently acting gangs of bolt-applying devices mounted for rotary and axial movement in the instance of each device and collectively disposed in a set pattern correlated to the given points at which the lifting piece is to be bolted; supports provided by the caisson acting to releasably engage the lifting piece to locate the piece in functional relation to the bolt-applying devices; means for attaching the caisson to the side of the vessels hull to locate the supported lifting piece in functional relation to the hull; and mechanism operable from within the caisson to control the rotary and am'al 'movements of said gangs of bolt-applying devices, the independency of said gangs permitting the lifting piece to be secured to the vessel by the act of first bolting the same by the use of one said gang and then, modifying the position of the caisson in relation to the hull and as may be required by the curvature of the latter, bolting the piece with another said gang.

11. As salvage equipment for use in raising a sunken vessel: the combination of a lifting piece adapted to receive bolts therethrough for securing the piece to the hull-plates of the vessel, and providing threaded sockets offset from given points at which the bolts are to be applied; a submersible working caisson externally rigged with the male counterpart of said sockets and which are mounted for rotary and axial'movement and correlated as to position with the sockets of the lifting piece for detachably supporting the latter upon the caisson; rigging for applying the securing bolts also mounted for rotary and axial movement externally upon the caisson in func tioning relation to the supported lifting piece; and mechanism operable from within the'caisson to control the rotary and axial movements of said external rigging.

12. In a salvage operation, the method ofv securing lifting pieces to the side of a sunken vessel and given, as the securing means, tap-bolts functional to cut their own threads, consisting in holding the piece to be secured firmly against the side of the vessel, drilling registering holes through the piece and into the underlying hullplates of the vessel and, in performing said drilling step, cutting the hole in the lifting piece to a diameter more than and in the underlying hullplates to a diameter less than the diameter of the tap-bolts, working the tap-bolts through the drilled holes of the piece and causing the same to cut threads in the registering holes of the hullplates, and screwing the tap-bolts home to clamp the piece against the hull.

' '13. As salvage equipment for use in raising a sunken vessel: a lifting pontoon having a depending cable presenting a terminal fitting formed to provide an eye and a surmounting haul-downcollar; a plate adapted to be bolted upon the side of the vessel and formed with an apical eye arranged to register with the eye of said terminal fitting; a submersible working caisson; external rigging upon the caisson comprising a device for detachably engaging the haul-down collar, and a pin-carrying device positioned to obtain registration as between the pin and the eye of said terminal fitting upon engaging the haul-down collar in the first said device; and means controlled from within the caisson and arranged to be operated upon a registration of the last-named eye with the eye of the vessel-attached plate for axially advancing the pin to couple the terminal fitting to the plate. s

'l4.'The described equipment of claim 13, said assembly of plate, terminal fitting of the cable,

and coupling pin providing means actuated by.

the pin-carrying device for locking the pin against axial dislodgment from its coupling position.

15. As a securing instrumentality for'use in under-water operations to hold a piece of external rigging to a submersible body and admitting to disengagement from within the body to enable the rigging piece to be disengaged at will:

end to the rigging piece, having a central shoulder arranged to bear upon the external wall of the body and connecting by a weakened shank with said anchoring end, and formed with a stem threaded upon its inner end and adapted to extend from the shoulder through the wall of the body into the interior of the latter, said threads of the stem acting to accommodate a clamping nut which, by backing the same off, permits the stem to be turned for twisting on" said weakened shank.

16. Given multiple anchors, and a submersible j buoyant caisson connected by respective and independently operable anchor lines to the several a member arranged to be anchored by its outer anchors, said caisson having a peak buoyancy I sufiiciently high to overcome the combined Weights of the caisson and its anchors and admitting to a water-ballasting such as will reduce the buoyancy lift to. a point where the same is below the combined weights of the anchors but above the weight of the caisson alone, the method of governing the under-water position of the water-ballasted caisson, both vertically and horizontally, and which comprises placing two sets of three or more anchors, one set for each side of the caisson, upon the sea-bottom to have the several anchors of a respective said set occupy positions approximately corresponding to the points of a triangle locating one angle in outwardly removed relation from a path of normal direct descent travelled by the caisson and its subtending side'in paralleling relation to a :per- "pendicu'lar plane taken transverse to a'lihetrairersing the two sides of the caisson, and taking in or playing out theseveral anchor lines oflthe 1 two sets of anchors. as may be necessary to cause the caisson to responsively approach or recede from one or another said anchor, relatively speaking. V r

17. In salvage equipment, in combination: a submersible working caisson; a mounting rigidly supported upon the caisson to occupya position external thereto; rotary means carried by said mountingto perform under-water functions of the caisson; means operable from within, the caisson, extending through the wall of the latter and, externally of the caisson; .operatively interconnected with the said rotary means for impartingrotation to the latter; and means operable from Within the caisson for freeing the said r0- tary means from the operating means which extends through the wall thereto, and for disengaging the mounting from the caisson, thus to permit the said rotary means and its mounting to be discarded at will in the event of such partsbecoming fouled in the under-water operations of the caisson.

18. Given a lifting strap produced to a length sufiicient to span an appreciable partof the over-all height of the hull of avessel, and which said strap has a flexibility characteristic sufii-' cient, when the strap is applied to occupy an approximate perpendicular position, to admit of being readily bent to conform to the curve of the vessels side, the said strap being arranged and adapted to be fixedly secured,- in said conforming shape, to the hull of a sunken vessel, the method of making the strap conform and of securing 19. In salvage equipment: the new system of 7 connecting a lifting cable to a sunken vessel which comprises a trunk-plate coupled to the cable; and a gang of load-straps yoked together. 7 at their upper ends by the trunk-plate and ap-;

plied perpendicularly in spaced relation upon the side of the vessel, the load-straps beingv each produced to a length sufficient to span an appreciable part of the hulls over-all height and being made fast to the hull throughout substantially this entire span, functionally speaking, in order to eifectuate a comparatively uniform distribution of the lift-force within the length of the strap. v

WALLA CE L. NEWELL; 

